It had been quite some time since Cam Talbot started a game for the Edmonton Oilers and even longer since he actually played a part in helping his team take home two points. Prior to last night’s tilt with the Boston Bruins, the former New York Rangers backup netminder had started exactly one of Edmonton’s last 12 games, dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the Detroit Red Wings on November 27th.
Anyone who looked at the Edmonton Oilers schedule heading into the current NHL campaign knew exactly where things stood. In order for this group to have any hope of staying in contention for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, they were going to have to find a way to survive the opening three months of the season. Typically, that would be far easier said than done.
When word broke yesterday morning that the Edmonton Oilers had decided to place defenceman
Mark Fayne on waivers, it was rather difficult to not raise an eyebrow at the move. While the former New Jersey Devil has struggled mightily over the opening two months of the 2015-16 campaign, one would think he is still good enough to slot in front of a player like Eric Gryba on an NHL roster.
So at what point will the Edmonton Oilers bashing end? While there is no question the organization has been in complete and utter disarray since falling in Game Seven of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes, the constant targeting of the franchise by certain fractions of the eastern media has become rather tiresome. The most recent addition to that list comes courtesy of long-time hockey writer Mike Brophy.
